zellij

The tradition & historical record

Zellij (Arabic: زليج, romanized: zillīj), also spelled zillij or zellige, is a style of mosaic tilework made from individually hand-chiseled tile pieces. The pieces were typically of different colours and fitted together to form various patterns on the basis of tessellations, most notably elaborate Islamic geometric motifs such as radiating star patterns composed of various polygons. This form of Islamic art is one of the main characteristics of architecture in the western Islamic world. It is found in the architecture of Morocco, the architecture of Algeria, early Islamic sites in Tunisia, and in the historic monuments of al-Andalus (in the Iberian Peninsula). From the 14th century onwards, zellij became a standard decorative element along lower walls, in fountains and pools, on minarets, and for the paving of floors. After the 15th century, the traditional mosaic zellij fell out of fashion in most countries except for Morocco, where it continues to be produced today. Zellij is found in modern buildings making use of traditional designs such as the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca which adds a new color palette with traditional designs. The influence of zellij patterns was evident in Spanish tiles produced during the Renaissance period and is seen in some modern imitations painted on square tiles. ¹

The word zillīj (زليج) is derived from the verb zalaja (زَلَجَ) meaning "to slide," in reference to the smooth, glazed surface of the tiles. The word azulejo in Portuguese and Spanish, referring to a style of painted tile in Portugal and Spain, derives from the word zillīj. In Spain, the mosaic tile technique used in historical Islamic monuments like the Alhambra is also called alicatado, a Spanish word derived from the Arabic verb qata'a (ﻗَﻄَﻊَ), "to cut". ¹

The technique of mosaic tilework was probably inspired or derived from Byzantine mosaics and then adapted by Muslim craftsmen for faience tiles. Fragments of zellij tilework from al-Mansuriyya (Sabra) in Tunisia, possibly dating from either the mid-10th century Fatimid foundation or from the mid-11th Zirid occupation, suggest that the technique may have developed in the western Islamic world around this period. Georges Marçais argued that these fragments, along with similar decoration found at Mahdia, indicate that the technique likely originated in Ifriqiya and was subsequently exported further west. By the 11th century, the zellij technique had reached a sophisticated level in the western Islamic world, as attested in the elaborate pavements found at the Hammadid capital, Qal'at Bani Hammad, in Algeria. Modern excavations here have uncovered a series of interlocking tiles including cross-shaped lustre-painted tiles and eight-pointed star-shaped tiles of monochrome green or turquoise. Found in palaces built between 1068 and 1091, these might be attributable to Ifriqiyan craftsmen who fled the Banu Hilal invasions to the east and sought refuge with the Hammadids around this time, though the lustre tiles may have been imported from elsewhere. In general, the Hammadid palaces made greater use of glazed ceramic architectural decoration than earlier Islamic architecture and may have played a role in promoting this architectural fashion to the rest of the western Islamic lands. ¹

During the subsequent Almohad period, prominent bands of ceramic decoration in green and white were features on the minarets of the Kutubiyya Mosque and the Kasbah Mosque of Marrakesh. Relatively simple in design, they may have reflected artistic influences from Sanhaja Berber culture. ¹

The more complex zellij style became widespread during the first half of the 14th century under the Marinid, Zayyanid, and Nasrid dynastic periods in Morocco, Algeria, and al-Andalus. Due to the significant cultural unity and relations between al-Andalus and the western Maghreb, the forms of zellij under Marinid, Nasrid, and Zayyanid patronage are extremely similar. In Ifriqiya (Tunisia), under the Hafsid dynasty, zellij tiling largely fell out of style during this same period and was replaced by a preference for stone and marble paneling. ¹

Zellij tiling was used to pave floors and to cover the lower walls inside buildings, and on the exterior of minarets and on some entrance portals. Geometric motifs predominated, with patterns of increasing complexity being formed during this period. Less frequently, vegetal or floral arabesque motifs were also created. On walls, zellij geometric dadoes were commonly topped by an epigraphic frieze. By this period, more colours were employed such as yellow (using iron oxides or chrome yellow), blues, and a dark brown manganese colour. This style of tile mosaic, formed by assembling a large number of small hand-cut pieces to form a pattern, is evident in famous buildings of the period such as the Alhambra palaces of the Nasrids, the mosques of Tlemcen, and the Marinid madrasas of Fez, Meknes, and Salé. Some Christian Spanish palaces of the same period employed Muslim or Mudéjar craftsmen, notably the Alcázar of Seville, whose 14th-century sections are contemporary with the Alhambra and contain zellij tilework in a similar style. Among the most exceptional surviving examples of Nasrid zellij art are the dadoes of the Mirador de Lindaraja and the Torre de la Cautiva in the Alhambra, both from the 14th century. ¹

In the 16th century, most of North Africa came under Ottoman rule. In Algeria, the indigenous zellij style was mostly supplanted by small square tiles imported from Europe – especially from Italy, Spain, and Delft – and sometimes from Tunis. Some examples of more traditional mosaic tiles found in this late period may have continued to be produced in Tlemcen. In Tunisia, another style of tile decoration, Qallaline tiles, became common during the 18th century and was produced locally. It consisted of square panels of fixed size, painted with scenes and flowers, in a technique similar to Italian maiolica rather than to the earlier mosaic technique. ¹

In Spain, where former Muslim-controlled territories had come under Christian rule, new techniques of tilemaking developed. As wealthy Spaniards favoured the Mudéjar style to decorate their residences, the demand for mosaic tilework in this style increased beyond what tilemakers could produce, requiring them to consider new methods. Towards the late 15th and early 16th centuries Seville became an important production center for a type of tile known as cuenca ("hollow") or arista ("ridge"). In this technique, motifs were formed by pressing a metal or wooden mould over the unbaked tile, leaving a motif delineated by thin ridges of clay that prevented the different colours in between from bleeding into each other during baking. This was similar to the older cuerda seca technique but more efficient for mass production. ¹

Zellij tiles are first fabricated in glazed squares, typically 10 cm per side, then cut by hand with a small adze-like hammer into a variety of pre-established shapes (usually memorized b… ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Zellij”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

zellij is architectural element, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 2 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²